Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Wednesday 11 August was an auspicious day for my family. We finally fulfilled a long-cherished ambition of mine that each one of us would be in a different country at the same time. (I’m not quite sure why I so like this idea concept, when I very much appreciate it when we ‘re all together in the same room, at least in theory – also a rare occurance – but there you have it.)

If you care, here’s where we all were. Pim – London for a couple of hours en route to California and taking over the world with solar power. Mim – Alemaya, Ethiopia, giving a course on setting up online learning platforms (in an environment with no internet access!) Kim – Los Angeles, being famous. Nate Dogg*- Grahamstown, in the Law Library (depending on your level of gullibility, but I’m his older sister so of course that’s where he was). Trinny – Olympos, Turkey, working on her suntan.

Which one of us would you rather be ? Comments in the box, please.

* Regular readers of this blog might remember I used to refer to Nate Dogg as ‘Nim’ for consistency’s sake, but he really wasn’t down with that, hence the hip-hop moniker.

In case you haven’t realised yet, my sister Kim has made a supercool music video for Moby’s single Wait For Me, and it’s going to be on TV and all over the interweb and she’s going to be famous and stuff. Well, maybe. To convert that maybe into a definitely, we need your help.

Please check out her video by clicking on this link and do vote if you like it. No silly registration hassle – you just need to enter your email address, and then click on email validation delivered directly to your inbox. And if you really like it lots and lots, please tell all your friends about it too. Deadline for voting is on Monday April 12, so get clicking!

If you have any further questions, check out the FAQs below. And thanks for your support!

FAQs

Q: Is this spam, cunningly disguised as a blog post?
A: No, spam is a revolting mystery meat; Clea is not a piece of meat, she is my sister.

Q: If Clea’s video is allegedly so cool, why doesn’t she have the most votes yet?
A: The competition opened in late February, but Clea only posted her video at the end of March. We’re playing catch-up.

Q: Why should I vote for Clea? Can’t I decide for myself and vote for someone else?
A: I am Clea’s PR, not the Genero.tv website PR, which is why I’ve posted a link directly to her video. But you’re welcome to check out all the other entries and vote for your favourite. In fact, you’re allowed to vote for more than one video if you can’t decide between them.

Q: Why are you posting this on your blog that nobody ever reads? Have you never heard of social networking?
A: We’re just trying to cover all bases. If you’re interested, you can find us on Facebook or follow Kim on Twitter.

Q: Why are you posting this on your blog, again, when your previous two postings have been on the exact same topic.
A: Sorry, I wasn’t sure you were paying attention.

Q: Why is Kim not famous already?
A: We’re working on it; your vote will help.

Q: I clicked on the link, and voted for Kim’s video, and told all my friends, just like you said. I LOVE her video, and would like her to make a music video for my band. How do I get in touch?
A: Submit a comment and leave your details. Kim and her management will respond promptly.

1. My application for a place on Ivo Vegter’s moon mission was successful. I’ll be joining the team as a cheesemaker 😉
2. I received my short-term contract for my new job, and discovered, to my pleasant surprise, that I get leave. Which makes sense, but I hadn’t been banking on it.
3. New Year’s plans are looking sorted, thanks in no small part to the energies of Mick. Seems that we’ll be running away with the fairies (and hobbits!).

Yesterday when I was stalking Dominic West on line (what´s a girl supposed to do until her Mim visits and brings her The Wire, Season 2?), I realised that he played the lead role in Tom Stoppard´s Rock ´n´ Roll, a production which I had the misfortune of seeing in London in January 2007.

I don´t precisely remember why I disliked the play so intensely, just that it was intensely tedious*. Now, if only I had thought to bring my opera glasses, I´m sure I would´ve had more fun watching Mr West at close range.

Okay, so it´s about a week since Obama was elected. Now I guess we all just have to wait until January to see (most of) the changes he´s promised…

And although I´m very happy that Obama is the president elect, I am definitely adopting the wait-and-see attitude. He is so the right guy from a morale perspective, but I have to admit I don´t know all that much about his policies…

Jonathan Miller: The Americans have inherited our two-party system.
Dudley Moore: How does that work?
Jonathan: Well, they have the Republican Party, which is the equivalent of our Conservative Party, and then they have the Democratic Party, which is the equivalent of our Conservative Party.
Peter Cook: Then there is the liberal element…
Dudley: Are the liberals Democrats or Republicans?
Alan Bennett: Yes… as is convenient for them.